How to Play

Cassino is the classic English fishing card game where players capture table cards by matching, summing, or building. Bonus points reward most cards, most spades, the 10 of Diamonds, the 2 of Spades, aces, and sweeps.

Cassino is a classic English fishing card game in which players capture cards from a central table by matching ranks, summing values, or by stacking 'builds' that mature into large captures. It is the only English-language fishing game still in wide play and the ancestor of Italian Scopa.

Players

Cassino is played by 2, 3, or 4 players. Two-handed (head-to-head) is the classic and best form. With four players, partners sit opposite and pool their captures; three-handed is cutthroat with each player on their own.

Card Deck

• Use a standard 52-card pack with no jokers.
• Card values for capturing and building: Ace = 1, numerals 2 through 10 at face value, and Jack, Queen, King capture by rank only (face cards have no numerical value and cannot combine into sums).A♠K♠Q♠J♠
• Two cards are special scoring targets in classic Cassino: the 10 of Diamonds ('Big Cassino', worth 2 points) and the 2 of Spades ('Little Cassino', worth 1 point).10♦2♠

Objective

Across one or more deals, be the first player or partnership to reach the agreed target score, traditionally 11 or 21 points. Points come from captured cards, captured spades, the two named scoring cards, captured aces, and clearing the whole table in a single play (a sweep).

Setup and Deal

1. Choose a first dealer by any fair method; the deal then passes one seat to the left after each deal.
2. The dealer gives 4 cards face-down to each player in batches of 2, then deals 4 cards face-up to the centre of the table to start the layout.
3. Place the remainder of the deck face-down as a stock to one side.
4. When every player has played all 4 cards, the dealer deals 4 fresh cards to each player from the stock (in batches of 2) but does NOT add new cards to the table.
5. Continue dealing fresh hands until the stock is exhausted; the player who makes the final capture also collects any cards left on the table at the end of the deal.

Gameplay

1. On your turn you must play exactly one card from your hand to the table, doing one of four things: capture, build, add to a build, or trail.
2. Capture by pairing: Play a card whose rank matches one or more table cards. Take your played card and every matching table card into your face-down capture pile. Example: play a 7 to take all loose 7s on the table.7♠7♥
3. Capture by combining: A numeral card may capture any subset of loose table numerals whose values sum exactly to its own. Example: play a 9 to take a 5 and a 4 together (5+4=9), or to take a 6, a 2 and an Ace (6+2+1=9). Multiple groups summing to the same total may all be captured in the same play.
4. Capture face cards by pairing only: Jacks, Queens and Kings cannot combine into sums; you can only take them by playing another of the same rank. Only one face card is captured at a time per play.J♠J♥Q♠K♠
5. Build: Place a card from hand on top of one or more loose table cards to create a single 'build' totalling a target value, announcing the total aloud. Example: with an 8 in hand and a 3 on the table, play a 5 onto the 3 and announce 'building 8'. The build is a stack you intend to capture next turn with the 8 in your hand. You must already hold the capturing card.
6. Compound build: You may add a same-suit-or-rank piece to your own existing build to make a duplicate stack of the same value, e.g. drop another 8 (or any 5+3 you can assemble) onto your 'building 8' to make 'building 8s', which still captures with an 8.
7. Take-the-build: Capture any build (yours or an opponent's) on a later turn by playing a card that matches its announced value.
8. Trail: If you make no capture and create no build, simply lay your card face-up on the table. It joins the loose layout and can be captured on later turns.
9. Sweep: If your capture clears every card and build off the table at once, mark the captured cards face-up to record one sweep (1 bonus point per sweep at the end of the deal). The next opponent must trail because the table is empty.
10. Aces count 1 for capturing and combining, and also score 1 point each in their own right.

Scoring

• Most cards captured (3 points): The player or team with the largest total of captured cards. Tied: the points are not awarded.
• Most spades (1 point): Most of the 13 spades. Tied: not awarded.
• Big Cassino, the 10 of Diamonds (2 points): Whoever captures it.10♦
• Little Cassino, the 2 of Spades (1 point): Whoever captures it.2♠
• Aces (1 point each): Each of the four aces scores for whoever captured it.A♠A♥A♦A♣
• Sweeps (1 point each): One bonus point per sweep made during the deal.
• Eleven points are available per deal (3 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 4 + sweeps). Targets are commonly 11 or 21 points across multiple deals.

Winning

The first player or partnership to reach the agreed target score (11 in the classic English game, 21 in many American homes) at the end of a hand wins the match. If both sides cross the target in the same hand, count categories in this order: cards, spades, Big Cassino, Little Cassino, aces, sweeps, and award the match to whichever side reaches the target first by that order. If still tied, deal another hand.

Common Variations

• Royal Cassino: Face cards take values (Jack 11, Queen 12, King 13) so they can be captured by combining sums. Some versions value Aces as 1 or 14 at the player's choice each play.
• Spade Cassino (Saratoga): Each captured spade scores 1 point (with the Jack of Spades scoring 2), the target rises to 61, and players keep score on a cribbage board.J♠
• Draw Cassino: Players keep their hand topped up to 4 cards by drawing from a stock after every play instead of being dealt fresh hands, removing the rest period between hands.
• Italian Cassino: Adds a sweep bonus for the Sette Bello (7 of diamonds) and uses a 40-card Italian deck closer to its Scopa relative.7♦

Tips and Strategy

• Big Cassino, Little Cassino and the aces are obvious targets. Plan a build or hold a capturing card the moment one appears on the table.
• Track spades. Most-spades is worth a single point but it tips many tight matches. If you already have 7 of the 13 spades in your captures you have it locked.
• Trail with care. Anything you trail is fuel for the opponent. Trail low non-spade pip cards rather than face cards or 7s/8s which combine flexibly.
• Build only when you can capture next. Builds you cannot finish become gifts to your opponent on their following turn.
• Watch the last card. The player who makes the final capture of the deal also takes any remaining loose cards on the table, often swinging the most-cards point.

Glossary

• Capture: Take your played card plus matching or summing table cards into your face-down pile.
• Build: A stack of cards on the table announced at a single value, intended to be captured next turn.
• Compound build: A multi-stack build of the same value (e.g. two 5+3 piles together announced as 'building 8s').
• Trail: Lay a card face-up on the table without capturing or building.
• Sweep: A capture that clears every card and build off the table at once; worth 1 bonus point.
• Big Cassino / Little Cassino: The 10 of Diamonds (2 pts) and the 2 of Spades (1 pt) respectively.10♦2♠